Operation: Golden Snitch Commences!
It's been quite a while since we blogged about anything! So sit back and prepare yourselves for all the details you can (or don't want to) handle!
Yesterday (19 Feb) we arrived in Florida! We decided to call this trip Operation: Golden Snitch. Here's the background. When Charlotte was 11, she got her Hogwarts letter, as the kids in Harry Potter do, telling you that you have been accepted into the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. COVID had been raging, so we couldn't go to Florida to see Hogwarts at Universal. So for this past Christmas, when Charlotte was 12, she received a second letter from Hogwarts letting her know that now that COVID has slowed down, Hogwarts is re-opening and she has dates for her initial orientation. She was over the moon excited and so were we!
We were lucky to find military discounts for the hotel at Universal and the Universal tickets themselves. The annual military passes are cheaper than a 4-day, 2 park pass. With the flights book too, we were all set!
Yesterday morning came quickly. The alarm was set for 2:30am....ooof. Luckily, everyone got out of bed and the Uber arrived on time. Me, being the slightly anxious traveler, panicked only a couple times on the way to the airport wondering if I had forgotten anything. Luckily, it was all there. The security lines are pretty short at 4am, so we were through to our gate by 4:10. We had almost an hour before we started to board, just like I like it, so we walked over to Starbucks to wait for them to open. Charlotte and I each got something to drink, neither of which had coffee in them, but it was just a little somethng to get the day started. Ross found a neat vending machine that had tasty salads. By the time we were done, it was ready to board. We were flying Southwest, which meant we could board a little extra early with military ID. This was helpful so the three of us could sit together. The flight was easy peasy and we were in Florida in no time. It was great to feel the 65 degree air as we walked off the plane. Much nicer than the 4 degree weather we left that morning! All bags arrived, and Colleen was ready to swoop in to pick us up.
Although we were tired and it felt like it was the middle of the day, it was only 9:30am. We found a spot to get some brunch, The Bagel King. I had some decent French Toast while Ross and Charlotte had bagel sandwiches. We had one final stop to make before heading to "Villa Jynx." A quick stop at WalMart to pick up an iPhone cord that Ross forgot (that's what lists are for Ross...), and a "cord cap" (just a plug for a lamp) for Colleen. I found a swimsuit top while browsing that may or may not make an appearance this week. It was finally time to get settled in!
I fully anticipated us taking a nap once we got to the house, but it didn't happen for any of us. Colleen had prepared our room with lots of great Harry Potter items, some of which she made herself! Charlotte will get to take most of it home, but now Ross and I have our House pillow cases! He's a Ravenclaw and I'm a Hufflepuff. We unpacked a bit, relaxed, and then decided to take a walk down to the lake to show Charlotte.
No gators were spotted on our walk, but we did see a few birds and squirrels. On our way back to the house, we stopped for a quick game of shuffleboard. Colleen has surprisingly never played! It was me and Charlotte vs Ross and Colleen. We decided to play up to 25. Charlotte and I handedly won 25 to -3 (yes, that's NEGATIVE 3!).
After such a long day, you would think it would be time to just chill for the remainder, but we weren't done yet! Colleen had bought us tickets to see Hello Dolly! at the Little Theater of New Smyrna Beach. This was the only reason we couldn't surprise her with Charlotte's visit. We got ourselves put together and headed out for dinner and a show.
We wanted to try Norwood's Treehouse, but we needed to make reservations the day prior, so that option was out. We settled for Thai Mango, which has been tasty in the past. Colleen hadn't realized they moved locations and we went to the old spot! This was fine, as we had plenty of time before the show. We made it to the new spot and got our orders in. Colleen was super happy with her Roaster Duck. All three of our dishes were fine, but nothing spectacular. Time for the show!
We have seen several productions at The Little Theater, including Girls of the Garden Club (that Colleen had a part in!) and the weirdest production of Jesus Christ Superstar anyone has ever seen. That show will live in my memory forever, for all the wrong reasons! Hello Dolly was a fun show! My favorite character was Cornelius. He was spectacular. The singing was lovely and the costumes were fun. I had never seen the musical or the movie, but I do remember the song that WALL-E listened to in that Disney movie. A nice end to a LONG day. We got home at about 11pm and it was way beyond our bedtimes. Well, except for Colleen. She's a night owl, so as we all drifted to sleep, she baked a pineapple upside down cake! Until tomorrow!
Stats for the day:
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